TopolearnKnowing the load order lets you add plugins and filetype settings without mystery or slow startup.
Vim finds scripts through the runtimepath option, a list of directories (~/.vim, $VIMRUNTIME, plugin dirs...). In each, sub-directories have fixed roles:
plugin/scripts load at every startup.ftplugin/<filetype>.vimloads when a buffer gets that filetype;indent/andsyntax/similarly.autoload/functions are loaded lazily the first time they are called (foo#bar()loadsautoload/foo.vim).after/directories run last, to override defaults.
Packages are the built-in plugin manager: put a plugin in ~/.vim/pack/<any>/start/<name>/ to load it at startup, or in opt/ and load it on demand with :packadd name. External managers (vim-plug, minpac) only automate this.
Autocommands run commands on events: autocmd BufWritePre *.py %s/\s\+$//e strips trailing whitespace before saving. Always put them in an augroup that starts with autocmd!, otherwise sourcing your vimrc twice registers them twice:
For per-language settings prefer ~/.vim/after/ftplugin/python.vim with setlocal over autocmd FileType; it keeps the vimrc small. To find what is slow, start with vim --startuptime log.txt. :scriptnames lists every script loaded so far, in order.
Example
" ~/.vimrc
augroup my_au
autocmd! " clear on re-source
autocmd BufWritePre *.py,*.js %s/\s\+$//e " strip trailing spaces
autocmd FileType gitcommit setlocal spell textwidth=72
augroup END
packadd! matchit " load an optional bundled package
" ~/.vim/after/ftplugin/python.vim
setlocal expandtab shiftwidth=4 colorcolumn=89
" plugin layout: ~/.vim/pack/plugins/start/vim-surround/
" shell: vim --startuptime /tmp/startup.logRemember
- runtimepath dirs: plugin/, ftplugin/, autoload/, after/
- pack//start loads always, pack//opt with :packadd
- Wrap autocmds in augroup + autocmd! to avoid duplicates
Watch out for
- Using set instead of setlocal in ftplugin files, leaking settings into other buffers.